Williams Gets Three Tests

5 April 2003 14:18pm

By

Welsh referee Nigel Williams will control the mouth-watering England-France clash in the final buildup match before this year's World Cup in Australia.
Williams has been appointed for three IRB Tests in the next six months, while fellow Welsh official Nigel Whitehouse will control the Scotland v Ireland in Edinburgh on September 6 - the same day as the England-France match.
As well, Nigel Owens and Hugh Watkins will act as touch judges throughout the international season.
"It's a great day for Welsh rugby," WRU director of referees Clive Norling said. "We expected Nigel Williams and Nigel Whitehouse to get games, but the appointment of Hugh and Nigel Owens means the IRB sees them as future international referees and that's something we agree with wholeheartedly."
Williams' other games are Australia v Ireland in Perth on June 7 and South Africa v Argentina in Port Elizabeth on June 28.
Wales' Tests will be controlled by South Africa's Mark Lawrence (v Australia in Sydney on June 14), Ireland's Alan Lewis (v New Zealand in Hamilton on June 21), France's Joel Dume (v Ireland in Dublin on August 16), Argentina's Pablo Deluca (v England in Cardiff on August 23) and England's Chris White (v Scotland in Cardiff on August 30).
Wales' scheduled Test against Fiji has been postponed indefinitely, the WRU has confirmed.

WRU International Skills Coach Jason Strange is a busy man, combining the new role with that of Wales Under 20 attack coach, Ebbw Vale head coach and continuing to teach at Ebbw Fawr Learning Community.

Warren Gatland and Sam Warburton look ahead to this week's crunch RBS 6 Nations tie against France, where the Wales skipper in particular is keen to make his mark, as Paris has proved a bleak place for him in the past.

Following their historic win over England, Wales Under 20 suffered a narrow, 36-34 loss to their Scottish counterparts last weekend, despite outscoring them by five tries to three. Watch the match highlights and reaction.

WRU TV go behind the scenes with the Wales squad as they put the final touches in place ahead of the clash against Scotland at Murrayfield. Follow the squad on their captain's run, the kickers visit to Murrayfield and Neil Jenkins' press conference